Grammar points:
In Spanish, all nouns are either masculine or feminine.
Masculine Feminine
el chico boy la chica girl
el jardín garden la universidad university
el libro book la revista magazine
A few of the nouns that end in -a are simply exceptions and must be memorized.
el día
el mapa
el planeta
el sofá
A few nouns that end in -o are feminine.
la mano
la radio
If a noun ends in a vowel, make it plural by adding -s.
libro: libros
(libro + s)
pluma: plumas
(pluma + s)
The definite articles (el, la) also change in the plural form. They become "los" and "las." The definite articles will be covered in depth in the next lesson.
el libro: los libros
la pluma: las plumas
el chico: los chicos
la señora: las señoras
If a noun ends in a consonant, make it plural by adding -es.
el borrador: los borradores
(borrador + es)
la universidad: las universidades
(universidad + es)
If a noun ends in -ión, add -es and drop the written accent.
el avión: los aviones
la conversación: las conversaciones
la sección: las secciones
la televisión: las televisiones
Note: You may wonder why "avión" isn't feminine. Notice that it doesn't qualify for our rule which says that all nouns ending in -ción and sión are feminine.
If a noun ends in -z, add -es and change the z to c.
el lápiz: los lápices
la voz: las voces
el tapiz: los tapices
In Spanish, the definite article has 4 forms, depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, singular or plural.
el gato
the male cat
los gatos
the male cats
la gata
the female cat
las gatas
the female cats
The 4 forms of the definite article are:
el
masculine singular
la
feminine singular
los
masculine plural
las
feminine plural
In Spanish, the indefinite article has 4 forms, depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, singular or plural.
un gato
a male cat
unos gatos
some male cats
una gata
a female cat
unas gatas
some female cats
The 4 forms of the indefinite article are:
un
masculine singular
una
feminine singular
unos
masculine plural
unas
feminine plural
The Verb Form "hay"
The verb form "hay" has two meanings:
there is
there are
Examples:
Hay muchos libros en la biblioteca.
There are many books in the library.
Hay un libro encima de la mesa.
There is a book on the table.
When used in questions, "hay" has two different meanings:
Is there?
Are there?
Ejemplos:
¿Hay un hotel en el centro?
Is there a hotel downtown?
¿Hay algunos libros por aquí?
Are there any books around here?
Adjectives
In Spanish, most adjectives change form, depending upon whether the word they modify is masculine or feminine. Notice the difference between "the tall boy","the tall girl.","the tall boys","the tall girls"
el chico alto
la chica alta
los chicos altos
las chicas altas
Adjectives of quantity almost always come before the noun. Such adjectives tell how much or how many.
pocos libros
mucha energía
mucho trabajo
pocas casas
Adjectives that are descriptive usually follow the noun they describe.
el chico alto
la chica alta
los libros pequeños
las plumas rojas